The Oakland Press/ JOHN TURK Al Doran, who was called on during a September standoff in West Bloomfield, with one of his excavators in Auburn Hills. He was honored Monday for the part he played in bringing the standoff to an end using his heavy machinery.

Few people understand the risk involved in a police standoff scenario.

Al Doran can now say he's one of them.

The Auburn Hills man was the driver of the excavator that helped bring a barricaded gunman situation to a close in West Bloomfield in September.

"He was the only one who could've operated the equipment and was willing to accept the risk," said Police Chief Michael Patton. "He was in the line of fire while helping us bring the incident to a conclusion."

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He was honored -- along with six officers, three dispatch officials and five West Bloomfield firefighters -- for his bravery and kindness Monday evening at the West Bloomfield Township Hall.

"I'm confident that they do not feel that they should be given an award, but their bravery still needs to be acknowledged," said Patton.

The standoff began when officers arrived at the 4000 block of Forest Edge Lane Sept. 9 on a domestic violence call where shots were fired. Officers went inside the home to investigate.

A West Bloomfield man fatally shot officer Patrick O'Rourke, 39, through the drywall of his bedroom, then barricaded himself inside the home, leading to a nearly 24-hour standoff with police.

As the night turned into day, intermittent shots rang out in the Forest Edge neighborhood. Neighboring departments arrived for backup, Oakland County Sheriff's Office SWAT crews were brought to the scene, and as many as 12 homes surrounding the area were evacuated.

It was clear the command team involved in the standoff needed to change their game plan.

That's when Doran, a previous contact for a special task force within the Sheriff's Office, was called. His specialty is the designation "heavy rigger." It took him an hour to bring his 52,000-pound excavator to the area.

After Sheriff Michael Bouchard cleared Doran to gain entrance to the home, authorities fit armor on the front of his rig and gave him a radio.

"I took out the exterior second story wall and an interior wall," Doran said.

With the house being virtually opened, SWAT teams were able to ramp a video camera-equipped robot into the shooter's bedroom.

"That allowed officers to get a good set of eyes on the suspect," said Patton. "We were fortunate that it had worked as we had hoped ... we were able to watch him on camera."

From the video feed, officers discovered that the suspect was laying on his bed. When he didn't move for more than 30 minutes, officers were sent into the home. The man had killed himself; the standoff was over.

"In the end it was the thing that made the difference -- knocking out the portion of the wall allowed us to put a robot into the specific bedroom, which we hadn't been able to do before," said Patton. "We were able to see the occupant of the home (was) apparently deceased, although we did not take that for granted."

Following officer O'Rourke's death, many charities have been set up to help his family.

The 12-year veteran of the West Bloomfield Police Department left behind a wife and four children.

The Royal Oak Music Theatre sponsored a concert in October, giving the proceeds to the O'Rourkes. A trust fund was also set up to "benefit the health, education and welfare of his family," according to the website for the fund.

Although Doran received thanks and praise for his role in the incident, he said officer O'Rourke is the real hero.

"I'm simply a tool," Doran said Monday. "I'm just a small portion of the picture. If it wasn't for all of the officers and firefighters ... and the officer who was shot ... I wouldn't have been able to do my job."

He usually doesn't draw up a bill for work he does in the community like the September standoff.

"This time I did," said Doran, "and I signed the check over to the officer's family."

O'Rourke paid the ultimate sacrifice, said Doran.

"His four children will grow up without a father," he added.

In a letter to Doran, Patton wrote "You have provided assistance to our department offering professional services ... under extreme stress with disregard to your own safety."

Doran is 34-year veteran firefighter who has been with the Independence Township Fire Department since 1989. He also owns an excavation company -- Doran Excavation -- based out of Auburn Hills.

Patton's letter went on to say: "We rely on support and involvement of citizens like you to help keep West Bloomfield safe."